I remember this day like it was yesterday. It was the last weekend in September and very, very hot. There was not a cloud in the sky that day, truly a perfect autumn day despite the heat. I met this family at The Tamarack Nature Center one of my favorite twin cities playgrounds and a perfect setting to capture four young boys. 

First we hung around in an open field. I don’t remember what I did exactly but it probably involved silly noises and a bit of dancing to get those smiles:)

The lure of the log and flowing stream proved to hard to resist though, so soon we were off to the center of the park to explore. (Seriously? Can you blame them?) After we spent sometime in the stream we headed over to the giant rock wall and found a cave to explore, and of course paused for a photo op.

We ended in the field, rolling and playing around like we were kids. Well…they are kids. Perhaps it is just me that was rolling around like a kid. (It goes without saying that I seriously paid for it the next day.) The afternoon ended with one of my most favorite photos ever. Their mom enlarged this one for over the fireplace in their family room, I can only imagine how perfect it looks there.

And that’s a wrap for this week. Next Friday I will be sharing more from my preschool sessions, lots and lots of cuteness ahead!

A lot of life happens indoors, so naturally we all want to capture it. This can be challenging due to many factors, but the one I find that people struggle with the most is how to not end up with a dark photo. So today I thought I would share a few tips and tricks to help you get a bit more light into your photos.

For the record, a lot of the indoor shots you see in my Project Life album are taken with a Nikon D700. One of it’s greatest assets is its ability to shoot in low light situations–which is one of the reasons my photos do not often appear to be too dark or grainy. I know many of you take photos with your iphone or a compact point and shoot camera, so for the purpose of this post my examples will be shot with this type of equipment. I want to show you that you don’t necessarily need a big DSLR to get a good indoor shot if you know a few tricks.

The most important bit of information I can provide is to always, always, have your subject facing the light.  This tip doesn’t necessarily translate to a very spur of the moment shot, but when things can be manipulated it’s the first thing you can do that will completely transform your photo. (And if what is happening can’t move you will often find me trying to place myself exactly where you see below–with the window or light source behind me. If the subjects won’t or can’t move, I move to where I know I need to be!) Here is a diagram that illustrates this:

It’s best to stand a bit off to the side, because if you are directly between your subject and the window you are more likely to block light falling onto your subject. This is my go-to technique, and is used the most often in our kitchen. If you look back at my layouts where there are “kitchen shots” you will notice that more often than not the photos are taken with the appliances in the background. That’s because the table sits at the north end, with north-facing windows. My daughter’s lack of enthusiasm about not getting to sit exactly where she wants when we do crafts or play board games sometimes creates a road block, but if I can get my way she is always sitting on the south side of the table!

Here is an example of Holly at our kitchen table facing the window. This was taken with my iphone with no flash on a cloudy day. The only editing done to this photo was adding a bit of contrast (through a soft light layer at 70% opacity) just so the image didn’t appear too flat. The sharpness? That’s the power of that iphone, standing still, and knowing how to use light to your advantage:

This type of shot always gives you those wonderful catchlights–the little white sparkle in her eyes that is actually the window behind me. You will always get these if your subject is pointing towards the light and you have wide open space behind you. If you point your subject towards the interior of the room, versus facing the window, you are probably going to end up with a shot like this. (This photo was taken with my iphone with the flash off and a very uncooperative subject):

Have any of you wondered why this consistently happens? Your sure you have a great photo and then when you upload it it’s really dark. I know I used to. When your camera is in charge of the settings (otherwise known as automatic) it does the best it can and what is happening here is the light meter within the camera is compensating for the light from the window. The camera assumes that there is actually a lot of light in the photo (which I suppose their technically is) but since the light is not on your subject the subject becomes underexposed. This can be aided with the help of a flash, but personally I am not always crazy about that look. Direct flash (which is what is most often found on point and shoot cameras) has a tendency to really wash out the colors and people in a photo so I rarely use it. If you have a DSLR and have a flash mounted on the top of your camera, you can get more light in your photo without washing everything out by pointing the straight up to the ceiling. The flash will “bounce” back down and create an even illumination. If your ceilings won’t bounce a sufficient amount of light back, pop up the white card (while still pointing the flash straight up) if your flash has one, or make one like they show here.

Like I said before, this all works great if you can manipulate what is going on. If you cannot, you can still try to capture an indoor shot but I have found that the results are really going to be hit or miss if you are on automatic or shooting with your phone. If my iphone is all I have in situation like this I try to stay as still as I possibly can (often using my elbows as a tripod or placing the phone against a wall, doorframe, or on something to prevent it from moving) and pray that my subjects do the same. If they move, or if I move, I am going to get blur. That’s just how it goes…the shutter speeds only go so far on the iphone!

But for those of you that have a DSLR? You have all of the opportunity in the world to play and see what you can come up with. You have the option of manipulating your settings, so my tip for you would be to—

Set the camera to manual!

This is a big undertaking, I get that. Up until May of 2010 I owned a Nikon D70 and had never, ever taken it off automatic. Honestly I didn’t even know where to begin. Luckily a photographer friend recommended a book to me that I have now recommended over and over again: Understanding Exposure. That book is literally what taught me how to shoot in manual and I am sure it can help any of you that have an interest to learn more about your camera. I didn’t find it hard to read or too dry for a how-to book–it actually was very readable and straight forward. Once I got the basic concepts down it was practice, practice, practice. I remember thinking I was NEVER going to be able to move my fingers fast enough (adjusting shutter speed and ISO with moving kids can be a bit tricky if they are moving in and out of  different lighting situations) but after awhile it really is second nature.

If you have a DSLR, here is a quick list of what I do and recommend:

1. I spot meter 100% of the time. For a good description of each type of metering–check out this site. I meter for skin tones, so most often I use the face. Sure there are times when the window or sky is blown in the background, but I don’t care. My subjects are the focus of my images!
2. Use prime lenses (fixed focal length versus zoom lenses with different focal lengths). It’s been my experience that prime lenses are sharper, focus faster, and have wider apertures. Wide apertures are your best friend in low light situations. Which brings me to three….
3. Shoot as wide open as possible. The lower the f-stop, the more wide open you are, thus letting the most light into your camera. If I am doing a portrait type shot I am always at a f/1.6 or f/1.8 because I am a sucker for bokeh, if I am trying to get more of the background in focus I go up to f/3.2 or so.
4. Have a camera with as high of an ISO setting as you can afford. My camera goes to at least 6200 I believe, and although I do not routinely shoot that high indoors I think nothing of being between 1000-2500. The capabilities of my camera can handle it without creating much noise (or grain) in the photo at all. If your camera tops out at 800 you are likely going to struggle indoors getting enough light into your camera.
5. Try and keep the shutter speed as low as possible, but not too low. (I do not like to go under 100.) The lower the shutter speed the more light that is let into your camera, the downside of course being that the lower it is the more opportunity there is for a blurry shot. I will be honest..sometimes when Holly and I are playing and I am taking a photo of it–she knows to FREEZE while I am taking the photo.

That was one of the first things I learned once I started my photography business, and learning so much more about Photoshop….most photos are nothing but smoke and mirrors and never what they seem! (I mean seriously–do you think I post a straight on shot of myself without fixing the area under my eyes where all of the bags are? HA! Of course I do.)

In the end if your photo is still a little darker than you would like, you can always play around a bit in photoshop. Bumping up curves will brighten your photos and when people end up being a little underexposed or dark my favorite action is MCP Actions Touch of Light/Touch of Darkness. Once the action is activated I make the brush a little bigger than the face, set the opacity to 25%, and just click a few times to give faces a little bit of a brightened lift. It’s a free download here,

I hope this short list of suggestions helps. I am by no means an expert, but I have found some things that work well for what I try to do so I am happy to share anything I know to help you get to know your camera better.

Are there any other photography related questions you have been wanting to ask?

Oh fall. How I miss you now that it is one degree!

Today I am sharing a session from my October mini sessions at Battle Creek Park in Saint Paul. This particular weekend was at the peak of colors–I have so many fun sessions to share from this day! Up first is an adorable family of four, these kiddos were so cute and absolutely loved rolling around in the leaves with me. (And who am I kidding? I found it very fun too!)

I adore the “serious” shot in the middle. Of course he has a silly side to–the right side of this next collage is a good example of this and coincidentally is my most favorite picture EVER taken:

We got plenty of other family shots, but something about this one below made it my favorite. I captured them doing their group hug (we do this as a family too) and little man just had to check in and see what all the noise was behind him. I am sure I was oooohhing and aaahhhing at all the love:)

And finally, an image that captures the spirit of siblings. As an older sister myself….oh how I wish there was a photo like this of me and my brother when we were young!!!

I look forward to sharing more of my fall images next Friday. Until then, stay warm!!!

I am finally getting around to blogging family photo sessions from this fall. WHEW! What a whirlwind of a season it was, I swear I was outside at a park or at a wedding, or running around a field every weekend in October!

This family chose a little hobby farm for their location and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I had never done a really large family group shot before but taking it in a llama pasture, with the llamas right behind me doing God only knows what, made for some great natural smile and laughter. Perhaps I should bring them with me to all sessions?!

Not sure if you can see it or not, but we all had a laugh when we noticed the youngest guy in the group was sticking his tongue out! In the end the family did choose this photo as the one they most wanted to enlarge….love that they opted to capture “real life.” Here is a another of my favorite images from the session, little man still hadn’t quite warmed up to me yet, but it sure made for a darling photo.

The split rail fence along the horse pasture was one of my favorite locations at the farm for photos. Love how it goes off in the distance, and absolutely love how both of these images turned out. One of the best ways to get a great family photo? Have the family spread apart and then squeeze in together while looking at me. (And if you mention to mom that maybe she might want to “goose” dad–all the better!) That’s what I did here in the b/w photo…and it came out just perfect.

Rounding out the afternoon were these images below. We finally figured out the little guy was more comfortable holding his blankie (and having dad nearby, he is squatting behind the group although you can’t see him) which I think makes the image that much more adorable. When working with littles it always important to just go with the flow, and let them set the tone. Believe me, it’s impossible to force a 2 or 3 year old to do anything! I work with them, and what they can give me, and talk, talk, talk. All of that talking almost always warms them up and them we get some completely adorable images like the one on the right. (And while these kiddos are much older, and don’t always need warm up time with a stranger, they do need to be made comfortable when a great big camera is being pointed at them.)

I found the best way to get older kids to smile is just to act as silly as possible, talk to them a lot–even pop my head out above the camera after I focused, or have Mom do something they will laugh at. If you can get mom to dance, jump around, or act goofy kids just love it!

I hope to do session shares every Friday on the blog as we move throughout the year. I love reliving these session all over again through the blog, and hope you all enjoyed seeing them too.

Thanks Sampson Family for a wonderful summer night!

Here are the details:

Mini-Session Dates: Sept 30th in Highland Park, October 13th at Battle Creek Regional Park, and October 21st along Summit Avenue.

Time: Click here to schedule. There are both morning and late afternoon appointments available.

Cost:$50+tax. No additional purchase necessary, images will be uploaded to tinyprints.com for a limited time for holiday card ordering. Special digital collections will be available, starting at $40.

Space is very limited, and will fill up fast. There are still a few slots available for traditional full family sessions, please email me to inquire.

The past two weeks have been busy ones at the studio, and one of the most fun evenings I have had this summer so far was early this week with this adorable family!  Mom wanted to both celebrate the arrival of the family’s newest addition, Elliot, but also get some updated images of her older children…and I am pretty sure we got it all.  This is only a small portion of the images I have been editing all afternoon, everytime I open up a new file I jump out of my seat and say–”oh, this is my favorite!”  Enjoy the sneak peek mom!

Mom also gets five-stars for her styling–these images are a perfect example of how to dress your family for a photoshoot.  Coordinating, without matching–similar tones, colors, and hues–loved the bright colors.  Perfect for a summer evening photo session!

I know it’s hard to think about the holidays on a 90 degree day, but we really are only about 10 weeks out from the start of the fall season–which means it’s time to start thinking Family Holiday Sessions!  I have already pre-selected dates and times, so get out your calendar out and schedule your session today!  Here are the details:

Dates: Sept. 24,25,30–Summit Ave, St Paul MN
Oct. 8,9–Highland Park, St Paul MN
Oct  15,16–Harriet Island, St Paul MN
Oct  22,23–Mississippi River Blvd, St Paul MN

Time: 45 minute session, scheduled between 10am-2pm each day listed

Cost: $200, $75 non-refundable deposit due at time of booking to reserve your time-slot

Includes: 45-min session fee
online gallery of 15-25 images
complete set of 4×6 proofs of all images in gallery
set of 25 flat 5×7 holiday cards with envelopes

Early-Bird Special–Reserve your holiday session in the month of July, and receive a complimentary digital image.  (That’s a $95 value!)

Super Early-Bird Special–Prepay for your entire session during the month of July and receive an additional set of 4×6 proofs and an additional digital image.  Just think…your holiday gift giving will be completed in minutes!

Are you stumped with what to give your mom for Mother’s Day?
Are you a mom not sure of what to even ask for yourself?
Have you always longed for a generational photo with grandma, you, and your daughter?
Are you a significant other of a mom, and looking for the perfect gift?
Is there a special relationship in your life that means as much to you as the bond between mother and child that want to capture?
Is this your FIRST Mother’s Day that you are excited to document?

I can answer all of these questions with one simple answer–schedule a session at my first annual Mother’s Day Mini-Session event!

Sessions are 20-minutes in length, and will be held April 16&17 at my studio in Saint Paul between 9-230pm.  Cost is $50 and includes the session fee and two 5x7s of your favorite image.  For all of the details, please visit my website.  Online Scheduling is available, and with a retail value of $175–these spots are already filling up fast.  If weather permits we will be outside–but indoor studio shots are available as well. Special packages will be available for this event–and don’t worry dads–there will be a Father’s Day Mini-Session event in June too!

If you like what you see here…
view the rest of my portfolio, schedule your Mother’s Day session, find me on facebook.

I just spent a wonderful couple of hours with Miss Elsa and here is one of my favorite images from our time together so far.  (I have only made it through ten photos if that gives you any idea on how cute they all are!)  It was my first in-studio session, and I must say I LOVED it.  The lighting is perfect, the space more than enough room for little ones to cruise about.  I am seriously on cloud nine.

Elsa’s mom (my new sewing tutor although she doesn’t know it yet!) brought along the most perfect outfits and accessories….when I look at this photo I am literally speechless.  I don’t know if I could have described more precisely the images I want to be able to create for families…but those colors, that wide-eyed look….this is exactly it.

Thank you guys for great session.  I hope to see much more of you in the future!